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Constitution and By-Laws 

OF THE 

NATIONAL SOCIETY 

OF THE 

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN 

REVOLUTION 

1906 



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ARTICLE I. 

NAME AND MEMBERSHIP. 

Section i. The name of this Society shall be The National Society 
OF THE Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Sec. 2. All persons duly qualified, who have been regularly admitted 
by the National Board of Management, shall be members of the National 
Society, but for purposes of convenience they may be organized into 
local Chapters as hereinafter provided. 

ARTICLE II. 

OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY. 

The objects of this Society are: 

(i) To perpetuate the memory of the spirit of the men and women 
who achieved American Independence, by the acquisition and protection 
of historical spots, and the erection of monuments; by the encourage- 
ment of historical research in relation to the Revolution and the pub- 
lication of its results; by the preservation of documents and relics. 



r. 



4 CONSTITUTION. 

and of the records of the individual services of Revolutionary soldiers 
and patriots, and by the promotion of celebrations of all patriotic anni- 
versaries. 

■" (2) To carry out the injunction of Washington in his farewell 
address to the American people, "to promote, as an object of primary 
importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge," thus 
developing an enlightened public opinion, and affording to yonng and 
old such advantages as shall develop in them the lar,<Jest capacity for 
performing the duties of American citizens. 

(3) To cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of American 
freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, jiidto aid in 
securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 



ARTICLE III. 

ELIGIBILITY AND ADMISSION. 

Section i. Any woman may be eligible for membership who is of 
the age of eighteen years, and who is descended from a man or woman 
who, with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid to the cause of Inde- 
pendence; from a recognized patriot, a soldier or sailor or civil officer, 
in one of the several Colonies or States, or of the United Colonies or 
States; provided that the applicant be acceptable to the Society. 



CONSTITUTION. 



Sec. 2. Every applicant for membership must be endorsed by at 
least one member of the National Society, and her application shall 
then be submitted to the Registrar General,* who shall report on the 
question of eligibility to the General Board of Management, when the 
question of admission shall be voted on by the Board by ballot, and if 
a majority of said Board approves such application, the applicant, after 
payment of the initiation fee, shall be enrolled as a member of the 
National Society. 

Sec. 3. All persons whose applications were approved on or before 
October 11, 1891, are charter members of the National Society. 

ARTICLE IV. 

OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY. 

Section i. The officers of the National Society shall be a President 
General; one Vice-President General in Charge of Organization of 
Chapters ; Vice-Presidents General ; one Recording and one Corres- 
ponding Secretary General; one Registrar General; one Treasurer 
General ; one Historian General ; one Assistant Historian General ; 
one Chaplain General and one Librarian General. 

These officers shall be elected by ballot, biennially, by vote of the 

*lu localities where Chapters are organized the ai)pIieation should be sent through the 
Chapter Registrar. (See Article VII, Section 2.) 



CONSTITUTION. 



majority of the members present at the meeting of the Continental 
Congress, and shall hold office for two years, and until the close of 
the Continental Congress, at which their successors shall be elected, 
except that the Treasurer General shall hold office until her successor 
has secured bondsmen, who have been duly accepted by the National 
Board of Management. Ten Vice-Presidents General shall be elected 
each year to hold office for two years, but only one Vice-President 
General from any state shall be nominated at the same Congress, and 
said candidate shall be the choice of the majority of the delegates 
of her State in attendance upon the Continental Congress. In case 
more than ten candidates for Vice-Presidents General receive a majority 
vote, the ten receiving the highest votes shall be considered elected. 
No person shall hold office for more than two terms successively, 
except the President General, who shall be ehgible to this office for 
two consecutive terms, regardless of previous service in other offices 
on the National Board; and no one shall be eligible to hold office 
in the National Society until she has been a member of the National 
Society two years. 

An officer appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only during the un- 
expired term from the previous time of election until the next regular 
election. 



■CONSTITUTION. 7 

Sec. 2. The number of Vice-Presidents General may be increased 
from time to time, not to exceed twenty in all, by a vote of two-thirds 
of the Board of Management. 

Sec. 3. In addition to the active officers named in Section i of 
this Article there may be' Honorary Vice-Presidents General and Hon- 
orary State Regents to be chosen from among those members who have 
rendered valuable service to the Society. The power to elect Honorary 
Vice-Presidents General shall be vested in the Continental C^gress, 
and no more Honorary Vice Presidents General shall be elected until the 
number heretofore elected shall be reduced below thirteen by death, 
resignation, or other cause; and that thereafter, the number shall at 
no time exceed thirteen. The power to elect Honorary State Regents 
for the several States and Territories shall be vested in the delegates 
fo the Continental Congress from such State or Territory, respectively. 

No State Regent, State Vice-Regent, or Honorary State Regent 
shall be appointed or elected who is not an actual resident of the State 
she represents; and no one shall hold more than one active office at 
the same time in the National Society of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution. 

Sec. 4. All active and honorary officers shall be members of the 
National Society in good standing. 



CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE V. 

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

Section i. All legislative and judicial power in the National Society 
of the Daughters of the American Revolution is vested in the Con- 
tinental Congress. 

Sec. 2. The Continental Congress of the National Society shall be 
composed of all the active officers of the National Society, one State 
Regent, or in her absence one State Vice-Regent, from each State, and 
the Regents and Delegates of each organized Chapter in the United 
States. 

Sec. 3. Each Chapter shall be entitled to be represented at the 
Continental Congress by its Regent or her alternate. 

The Chapters shall be entitled to be represented by their Regent 
and one delegate for the first fifty members; when one hundred mem- 
bers are attained, to still be represented by but one delegate. This 
to apply to all Chapters. 

After the first hundred, the representation shall be in the ratio of 
one delegate to every subsequent one hundred. 

, An alternate shall be elected for each Chapter Regent and delegate. 

Only members who have paid their dues for the official year then 
current shall be entitled to representation. 



- CONSTITUTION. g 

Sec. 4. The annual meeting of the Continental Congress shall be 
held in Washington City, D. C, during the week in which the 19th of 
April falls. At this meeting the report of the Board of Management 
shall be considered ; all the officers of the National Society shall be 
elected by ballot, and such business transacted as the good of the So- 
ciety may require. 

Sec. 5. Special meetings shall be called by the Board of Manage- 
ment or by the President General when directed so to do by the Board 
of Management, or when requested in writing so to do by twenty-five 
or more members, representing Chapters in at least three States, on 
giving thirty days' notice, specifying the time and place of meeting and 
the business to be transacted. 

Sec. 6. All honorary and ex-officers of the National Society may 
attend the meetings of the Continental Congress, but shall not partici- 
pate in its deliberations. 

Sec. 7. A quorum of the Continental Congress shall be one hundred 
properly accredited delegates. 

ARTICLE VI. 

the national board of management. 
Section i. The National Board of Management shall be composed 
of the active officers of the National Society, and one State Regent, or, 



10 CONSTITUTION. 

in her absence, one State Vice-Regent from each State and Territory; 
said State Regent to be chosen by the delegates from each State and 
Territory to the Continental Congress at it's annual meeting, and the 
State Vice-Regent may be chosen at such annual meeting or at the 
annual State conference. The officers of the National Society shall 
be ex officio officers of the Board of Management. The Board shall 
meet at least once every four months, and at such times as the ex- 
igencies of the Society may demand, on the call of the President. 
Seven members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of busi- 
ness. 

Sec. 2. The National Board of Management shall be an adminis- 
trative body. They shall carry out the ordering of Congress; act upon 
applications for membership ; fill vacancies in office until the next meet- 
ing of Congress ; prescribe rules and regulations for their own govern- 
ment while in office, and, in general, do all things necessary for the 
prosperity and success of the Society, subject, however, to the approval 
of the Continental Congress. 

Sec. 3. A National Executive Committee of nine, of which the 
President General shall be Chairman ex-officio, shall be elected by the 
National Board of Management from its members, and shall, in the 
interim between the meetings of the Board, transact such business as 
shall be delegated to it by the National Board of Management. 



-CONSTITUTION. II 

Sec. 4. The President General may call meetings of the National 
Board of Management and the Executive Committee at any time she 
may deem necessary, and shall call such meeting upon the written 
request of any five members thereof, provided that not less than five 
days' notice of the time and place of such meeting shall be given. 

ARTICLE VII. 

CHAPTERS. 

Section i. When twelve members of the Society shall be living in 
one locality they may, after formal authorization by the National Board 
of Management, organize a Chapter. They may elect a presiding officer, 
whose title will be Regent, and who will be a delegate to the Continental 
Congress of the National Society, a Secretary, a Registrar, and such 
other officers as may be required.* 

*It will be observed from the foregoing and Article IV, Section 4, of the By- 
Laws, that in order to facilitate the organization and extension of the Soclet.v in all 
the States and Territories of the Union, two methods of forming Chapters are al- 
lowable under the Constitution. 

One method authorizes twelve members of the Society living in one locality, 
after formal authorization by the National Board of Management, to come together 
to form a Chapter and elect a Regent, Secretary, Registrar, Treasurer, and other 
officers, and, if desired, a local Board of Management. 

The other method contemplates the selection and appointment by the State Regent 
(or in States that have no State Regent, by the Vice-President General in charge of 
Organization) of Chapter Regents, to whom authority is given to form Chapters in 



CONSTITUTION. 



Sec. 2. After a local Board of Management shall have been estab- 
lished, all applications for membership shall be passed upon by the 
Local Board, and if the applicant shall be deemed satisfactory and her 
eligibility established, the application shall receive the endorsement of 
the Regent, Secretary, and Registrar, and be forwarded to the National 
Board of Management for final action. 

Sec. 3. The local Chapters shall be governed by the Constitution of 
the National Society, but may enact By-Laws for their own government 
in harmony with the Constitution of the National Society. 

ARTICLE VIIL 

INITIATION, DUES, AND LIABILITIES. 

Section i. The initiation fee to the National Society shall be one 
dollar, and the annual dues two dollars, payable in advance on or before 
the 22nd day of March in each year. 

Sec. 2. The payment of twenty-five dollars at one time shall con- 
stitute a life membership and exempt the member from further pay- 
ment of dues. 

given localities, and to appoint officers for those Chapters for the first year. 

Both methods are legitimate and consistent with the spirit of the Constitution. 
Twelve members In both cases must be obtained before the Chapter can be organized. 
No one shall be a member of more than one Chapter at the same time. 



• CONSTITUTION. 



Sec. 3. The local Chapters shall be entitled to retain one-half of 
the annual dues and one-half of the life-membership fees paid to them, 
respectively, for their own use. The local Chapters may by by-laws 
make provision for the collection of additional dues for their own use. 

Sec. 4. The sum of three dollars, covering the initiation fee and 
annual dues for the current year, must accompany each application 
presented to the National Society direct. The sum of two dollars, 
covering the initiation fee and one-half the annual dues for the current 
year, shall accompany each application forwarded to the National So- 
ciety, through any local Chapter, unless the applicant can present a 
card of transfer from the National Society of the Children of the 
American Revolution, showing that she was in good standing, with all 
dues paid to that Society, to the age of eighteen, and that the transfer 
is given within a year thereafter. 

Sec. 5. A member who shall remain in arrears for dues for three 
months after notice of her indebtedness has been sent her may be 
dropped from the rolls by the Board of Management; but no one shall 
be dropped until after two notices of arrears shall have been given her. 
Members at large of the National Society dropped for non-payment 
of dues may be reinstated by the National Board of Management upon 
payment of all back dues, and all members dropped from Chapters 



14 CONSTITUTION. 



for non-payment of dues may be reinstated through their respective 
Chapters, upon payment of all back dues to the Chapters, the Chapters 
to pay to the National Society one dollar for each year of delinquency 
of each member, and the National Board of Management to approve 
such reinstatement. 

Sec. 6. No debt or liability, except the ordinary current expenses 
of the National Society, shall be incurred, nor any project or plan re- 
quiring the expenditure of money shall be entered into, for which the 
National Society shall be responsible, except by a vote of three-fourths 
of the Board of Management; and every obligation for the payment 
of money, except checks drawn against deposits, executed in the name 
or in behalf of the National Society, shall be null and void. 

ARTICLE IX. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section i. Proposed amendments to the Constitution, if endorsed 
by twelve members of the Society, or by any organized Chapter, may 
be presented once in two years only, at a Continental Congress of the 
National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and 
acted upon at the next Congress, the full power to amend being vested 
in such Congress, and such amendments, if approved by a two-thirds 



CONSTITUTION. I5 

vote of the members present, shall be in full force thereafter as part of 
this Constitution; and it shall require a two-thirds vote to lay any 
proposed amendment on the table. Amendments may be presented in 
1903, and every second year thereafter. 

Sec. 2. Notice of all proposed amendments must be sent by the 
Board of Management to all State and Chapter Regents in the Society 
within ninety days after the adjournment of the Congress at which the 
amendment has been submitted. 



Hg-SIauia. 



ARTICLE I. 

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 

Nominations of officers shall be made from the floor, and the elec- 
tion shall be by ballot. A majority shall elect. 

ARTICLE II. 

OFFICERS. 

Section i. The duties of the general officers shall be such as 
usually appertain to their offices, and they shall have such other duties 
as are hereinafter imposed. They shall report at the annual meeting, 
and at such other times as may, by the National Board of Management, 
be directed. 

Sec. 2. When a National Officer is unable to attend to the duties of 
her office, either by absence from the city or otherwise, she shall report 
such fact to the Board of Management, and the Board shall thereupon 



appoint one of its members to temporarily perform the duties of such 
office. 

Sec. 3. In order to preserve uniformity and prevent conflict of 
authority, all information regarding rules and regulations governing the 
National Society and the formation and organization of Chapters shall 
be sent out by the Officers under whose jurisdiction such questions may 
belong. All such information shall be submitted to the Board of 
Management for approval before distribution. 

ARTICLE III. 

PRESIDENT GENERAL. 

Section i. The President General, in addition to her general 
duties, shall be ex ofUc'io Chairman of the National Board of Manage- 
ment and of the Executive Committee, and a member of every other 
committee. 

Sec. 2. At each annual meeting she shall appoint the following 
Standing Committees: 

Finance Committee. 
Auditing Committee. 
Printing Committee. 
Revolutionary Relics Committee. 



l8 BY-LAWS. 

The duties of the above committees shall be such as usually pertain 
to committees of like character, and such as may be defined by the 
Board of Management. 

ARTICLE IV. 

VICE-PRESIDENTS GENERAL AND STATE REGENTS. 

Section i. In the absence of the President General from any ses- 
sion of the Continental Congress, or from a meeting of the National 
Board of Management, one of the Vice-Presidents General shall be 
elected to preside. 

Sec. 2. In the prolonged absence or inability to act of the President 
General the executive authority shall be vested in the Vice-President 
General who may be selected by the Board of Management for that 
purpose. 

Sec. 3. The Vice-President General in Charge of Organization of 
Chapters shall have authority to nominate one State Regent for the 
first year, to be elected by the Board. When Chapters organize through 
the State Regent the application shall be presented by the State Regent 
to the Vice-President General in Charge of Organization of Chapters, 
who shall apply to the National Board of Management for formal 
authorization to form such a Chapter. When a Chapter organizes under 
Art. VII, Sec. i of the Constitution, the Vice-President General in 



BY-LAWS. 19 

Qiarge of Organization of Chapters shall confer with the State Regent 
in whose jurisdiction the proposed Chapter will be before bringing 
such application to the National Board of Management for formal 
authorization to organize. She shall have general supervision of the 
organization of Chapters, in connection with the respective State 
Regent's, and shall perform such other duties as may be entrusted to 
her by the National Board of Management. 

Sec. 4. The State Regents shall have power to appoint the Regents 
of Chapters in their respective States and Territories for the first year, 
subject to the approval of the National Board of Management,* and be 
charged with the active work of organization therein, subject to the 
general supervision of the Vice-President General in Charge of Or- 
ganization of Chapters. 

Sec. 5. The Regents of Chapters shall have power to appoint the 
Officers of their respective Chapters for the first year. 

Sec. 6. No Officer shall be elected by the National Board of Man- 
agement at the same meeting at which she is nominated. The name of 
the candidate for election must be presented in writing, together with 
the qualifications that would make her a desirable member, and the 
election shall be by ballot. 

•See foot-note to Constitution, Article VII. 



ARTICLE V. 

SECRETARIES GENERAL. 

Section i. The Recording Secretary General shall keep a record of 
all the meetings of the National Society, the Board of Management, and 
the Executive Committee; have charge of the seal; give due notice of 
all meetings of the National Society or National Board of Management 
or Executive Committee; give due notice to all General Officers and 
Chapters of all votes, orders and proceedings affecting or appertaining 
to their duties, and generally perform such acts as pertain to her office. 

Sec. 2. The Corresponding Secretary General shall attend to all 
correspondence of the Society and Board of Management; distribute 
all pamphlets, circulars, and supplies which are gratuitously issued, as 
directed by the National Board of Management, and perform such 
other duties as may be directed by the Board. 

ARTICLE VI. 
treasurer general. 
The Treasurer General shall have charge of the funds and securi- 
ties of the National Society. She shall deposit the same in such bank- 
ing institution, in the City of Washington, as the National Board of 
Management shall select, to the credit of the National Society of the 



Daughters of the American Revolution, and draw thereon by check, 
when so directed by the Continental Congress or National Board of 
Management. All bills, except such as the Board of Management shall 
specifically exempt, shall be countersigned by the Chairman of the 
Finance Committee. The Treasurer General shall make an annual re- 
port to the Continental Congress. Her accounts shall be audited 
monthly by an expert accountant, chosen by the Auditing Committee 
and approved by the National Board of Management. Her report 
and accounts shall be submitted to the Auditing Committee. She shall 
give bond for the faithful discharge of the duties above defined. 

ARTICLE Vn. 

REGISTRAR GENERAL. 

The Registrar General shall keep a register of the names and dates 
of the election of all members of the several Chapters and of the 
National Society at large, and shall have the care and custody of all 
applications for membership, duplicates of which, properly approved 
by the National Officers, shall be retained by the registrars of the 
Chapters. The Registrar General shall examine all applications for 
membership, and approve the same if the applicant is found eligible; 



if not, she shall return the same for correction, pointing out its defects. 
She shall make all corrections to Ancestors' records and carry on all 
correspondence connected with this, as well as with all other gene- 
alogical matters pertaining to the duties of the Registrar General's 
office. She shall report all applications to the National Board of 
Management for final action. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

HISTORIAN GENERAI.. 

The Historian General shall have the custody of all the historical 
and biographical collections of which the National Society may become 
possessed, and shall catalogue and arrange the same, and shall place the 
same in a fire-proof repository for preservation. She shall prepare, for 
official publication by the Society, historical and biographical sketches 
of the Revolutionary ancestry of members and of distinguished women 
of the Revolution. 

ARTICLE IX. 

CHAPLAIN GENERAL. 

The Chaplain General shall conduct such services as occasion may 
require. 



BY-LAWS. 2$ 

ARTICLE X. 

LIBRARIAN GENERAL. 

The Librarian General shall have the care and custody of all books, 
magazines, pamphlets and manuscripts of which the National Society 
may become possessed, and shall catalogue and arrange the same. She 
shall have charge of soliciting gifts, negotiating exchanges and pur- 
chasing new volumes for the library. She shall have the power, sub- 
ject to the approval of the National Board of Management, of rejecting 
any volumes offered to the library which she deems unsuited to the 
character of the collection. She shall carry on the correspondence of 
the Library and shall have complete supervision of its administration. 

ARTICLE XI. 

CHAPTERS. 

Every Chapter shall 

(i) Notify the Vice-President General in Charge of Organization 
of Chapters of the election and appointment of all officers and delegates. 

(2) Pay to the Treasurer-General, on or before the 22nd day of 
March, the sum of one dollar for each active member thereof, ac- 
companied by a typewritten alphabetical list of its members. 



(3) Transmit to the Registrar General all approved applications 
for membership for final action by the Board, and notify her of the 
resignation or death of any member thereof. 

(4) Duplicates of such reports shall be sent by each Chapter to its 
State Regent. 

(5) Each Chapter shall elect a Regent, Secretary, Registrar, 
Treasurer, other officers, and Local Board of Management, at that time 
of year that best suits its convenience ; but the Delegates must be elected 
on or before the first of February preceding the Continental Congress. 
A Regent may be empowered by her Chapter to fill any vacancy arising 
in her delegation, from illness or other cause, after the first of Febru- 
ary, from Alternates duly elected for that purpose, on or before the 
first of February. 

(6) Each Chapter shall be entitled, upon payment of the cost 
thereof, to a certificate or charter duly certifying its name, location, 
date, officers, and organizing members, which shall be signed by the 
President General and Recording Secretary General, attested by the 
seal of the National Society and countersigned by the State Regent. 

(7) Chapters must not be named for living persons; and unless 
there is good and sufficient reason they should not be named for per- 
sons who belong to a later historical period than the one ending in 
1820. 



The following Amendment, adopted by the Sixteenth Continental 
Congress, 1907, to be substituted for original Section 5, Article 
XI: 

Each Chapter shall elect a Regent, Secretary, Registrar, Treas- 
urer, other officers, and local board of management, at that time of 
year that best suits its convenience; but the delegates must be elected 
on or before the first of March preceding the Continental Congress. 
A Regent may be empowered by her Chapter to fill any vacancy 
arising in her delegation from illness, or other cause, after the first 
of March, from alternates duly elected for that purpose on or before 
the first of March. 



25 



ARTICLE XII. 

SEAL. 

The seal of the Society shall be one and seven-eighths of an inch in 
diameter, charged with the figure of a dame of the Revolutionary time 




sitting at her spinning wheel, with thirteen stars above her, the whole 
surrounded by a rim containing the legend, "The National Society of 



26 BY-LAWS. 



the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1776- 1890," and the motto, 
"Home and Country." 

ARTICLE XIII. 

CERTIFICATES. 

Each member of the Society shall be entitled to a certificate of 
membership, duly attested by the President General, Recording Secre- 
tary General, Registrar General, and the seal of the National Society. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

INSIGNIA. 

The insignia of the Society shall consist of a badge in the form of 
a spinning wheel and distaff. It shall be carried only on the left 
breast. The wheel is seven-eighths of an inch in diameter and of gold, 
with thirteen spokes, and a field of dark-blue enamel upon its tire bear- 
ing the name of the Society in letters of gold. Upon its outer rim, 
opposite the ends of the spokes, are thirteen small stars, which may be 
set with precious stones at the discretion of the owner. Underneath 
the wheel is a golden distaff, one and one-half inches long, filled with 
silver flax. Upon the back of the wheel the registration number of 
the owner shall be engraved, and her name may be added. The ribbon 



BY-LAWS. 27 



to be worn with the wheel is dark blue with a white edge, ribbed and 
watered, following the colors of Washington's staff. The badge for 
informal wear shall be the Insignia of the Society, engraved or other- 
wise impressed upon a material enclosed in a gold or other rim. A 
rosette of the prescribed ribbon, attached to a stick-pin, may be worn 
as an informal badge upon ordinary occasions. Distinctive ancestral 




bars shall be patented by the National Society of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, and be issued only by permit from the Registrar 
General. 

ARTICLE XV. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

At the meetings of the Board of Management the following order 



of business shall be observed: ist, Prayer by Chaplain General. 2d, 
Reading of minutes of previous meetings and their approval. 3d, Re- 
ports of officers and Standing Committees. 4th, Reports of Select 
Committees. 5th, Unfinished business. 6th, New business. 7th, Mis- 
cellaneous business. 

ARTICLE XVI. 



Any member conducting herself, either at the Chapter meetings or 
elsewhere, in a way calculated to disturb the harmony of the Society, 
or to impair its good name or prosperity, or to injure the reputation 
of any member thereof, may, after thorough investigation, be repri- 
manded, suspended, or expelled, as the National Board of Manage- 
ment may decide. 

No complaint or charge against any member or Chapter shall be 
considered by the National Board or its Executive Committee until such 
complaint has been made in writing, signed by at least three members 
of the Society, and the person, or Chapter, complained against shall 
have been notified, and given at least three weeks opportunity for answer 
or defense, which defense shall be made by the person complained of, 
or by her representative. 



BY-LAWS. 29 

ARTICLE XVII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Section i. These By-Laws may be altered or amended at any meet- 
ing of the Continental Congress. 

Amendments shall be sent to all the Chapters at least sixty days 
before the meeting of the Congress in which they are to be voted upon. 

Sec. 2. If adopted by a majority vote at a meeting of the Con- 
tinental Congress, amendments shall take effect from the adjournment 
of the said meeting. 



30 ACT OF INCORPORATION. 



Art at ilnror^jorattott 



H. R. 3553. 

Fifty-Fourth Congress of the United States of America. 

At the First Session begun and held at the city of Washington on the 
second day of December, one thousand eight hundred and ninety- 
five. 

(public no. 19.) 

An Act to Incorporate the National Society of the Daughters of 
THE American Revolution. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represetitatives of the Uni- 
ted States of America in Congress assembled, That Mary Parke Foster 
(Mrs. John W. Foster), of Indiana; Mary Virginia Ellet Cabell (Mrs. 
William D. Cabell), of Virginia; Helen Mason Boynton (Mrs. Henry 
V. Boynton), of Ohio; Henrietta Greely (Mrs. A. W. Greely), of 



ACT OF INCORPORATION. 3I 

Washington, District of Columbia; Lelie Dent Saint Clair (Mrs. F. O. 
Saint Clair), of Maryland; Regina M. Knott (Mrs. A. Leo Knott), 
of Maryland; Sara Agnes Rice Pryor (Mrs. Roger A. Pryor), of New 
York; Sara Ford Judd Goode (Mrs. G. Browne Goode), of Wash- 
ington, District of Columbia; Mary Desha, of Kentucky; Sue Virginia 
Field (Mrs. Stephen J. Field), of California; Sallie Kennedy Alex- 
ander (Mrs. Thomas Alexander), of Washington, District of Columbia; 
Rosa Wright Smith, of Washington, District of Columbia; Sara C. J. 
Hagan (Mrs. Hugh Hagan), of Georgia; Mary Stiner Putnam (Mrs. 
John Risley Putnam), of New York; Mary Leighton Shields (Mrs. 
George H. Shields), of Missouri; Ellen Hardin Walworth, of New 
York; Mary E. MacDonald (Mrs. Marshall MacDonald), of Virginia; 
Eugenia Washington, of Virginia; Alice M. Clarke (Mrs. A. Howard 
Clarke), of Massachusetts; Clara Barton, of Washington, District of 
Columbia; Mary S. Lockwood, of Washington, District of Columbia; 
Frances B. Hamlin (Mrs. Teunis S. Hamlin), of Washington, District 
of Columbia; Martha C. B. Clarke (Mrs. Arthur E. Clarke), of New 
Hampshire; Lucia E. Blount (Mrs. Henry Blount), of Indiana; Jane 
A. O. Keim (Mrs. deB. Randolph Keim), of Connecticut; Louise Ward 
McAllister, of New York; Effie Ream Osborne (Mrs. Frank Stuart 
Osborne), of Illinois; Maria Devereux, of Washington, District of 



32 ACT OF INCORPORATION. 

Columbia; Belinda O. Wilbour (Mrs. Joshua Wilbour), of Rhode 
Island; Georgina E. Shippen (Mrs. W. W. Shippen), of New Jersey; 
Julia K. Hogg (Mrs. N. B. Hogg), of Pennsylvania; Katherine C. 
Breckinridge (Mrs. Clifton R. Breckinridge), of Arkansas; Sara Isa- 
bella Hubbard (Mrs. Adolphus S. Hubbard), of California; Mary L. 
D. Putnam (Mrs. Charles E. Putnam), of Iowa; Delia Clayborne 
Buckner (Mrs. Simon B. Buckner), of Kentucky; Emily Marshall Eliot 
(Mrs. Samuel Eliot), of Massachusetts; Lucy Grey Henry (Mrs. Wil- 
liam Wirt Henry), of Virginia; Elizabeth Blair Lee, of Maryland; 
Mrs. Frances P. Burrows (Mrs. Julius C. Burrows), Mrs. Mary 
H. McMillan (Mrs. James McMillan), Mrs. Emma Gregory Hull 
(Mrs. J. A. T. Hull), Mrs. Mary B. K. Washington (Mrs. Joseph 
Washington), and their associates and successors, are hereby created 
a body corporate and politic, in the District of Columbia, by the name 
of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolu- 
tion, for patriotic, historical, and educational purposes; to perpetuate 
the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American 
Independence; by the acquisition and protection of historical spots 
and the erection of monuments; by the encouragement of historical 
research in relation to the Revolution and the publication of its results ; 
by the preservation of documents and relics, and of the records of the 



ACT OF INCORPORATION. 33 



individual services of revolutionary soldiers and patriots, and by the 
promotion of Celebrations of all patriotic anniversaries; to carry out 
the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the American 
people, "to promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions 
for the general diffusion of knowledge," thus developing an enlightened 
public opinion and affording to young and old such advantages as shall 
develop in them the largest capacity for performing the duties of 
American citizens; to cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of 
American freedom; to foster true patriotism and love of country, and 
to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 

Section 2. That said society is authorized to hold real and per- 
sonal estate in the United States, so far only as may be necessary to 
its lawful ends, to an amount not exceeding five hundred thousand 
dollars, and may adopt a constitution and make by-laws not inconsistent 
with law, and may adopt a seal. 

Said society shall have its headquarters or principal office at 
Washington, in the District of Columbia. 

Section 3. That said society shall report annually to the Secretary 
of the Smithsonian Institution concerning its proceedings, and said 
Secretary shall communicate to Congress such portions thereof as he 
may deem of national interest and importance. The Regents of the 



34 ACT OF INCORPORATION. 



Smithsonian Institution are authorized to permit said national society 
to deposit its collections, manuscripts, books, pamphlets, and other 
material for history in the Smithsonian Institution or in the National 
Museum, at their discretion, upon such conditions and under such rules 
as they shall prescribe. 

Approved February 20, 1896. Grover Cleveland. 

Thomas B. Reed, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

A. E. Stevenson, 
Vice-President of the United States and 
President of the Senate. 



DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 

I certify that the above is a true copy of an Act of Congress, the 
original of which is on file in this Department. 

In testimony whereof I, Richard Olney, Secretary of State of the 
United States, have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the Seal 
of the Department of State to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington this 5th of May, A. D. 1896, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the 120th. 

[seal.] Richard Olney. 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 35 



(g^nfral dinfnrmatton 



1. Application for Membership, when properly filled out and en- 
dorsed by at least one member of the Society, should be sent to the 
Chapter Registrar if the applicant joins through a Chapter. An ap- 
plicant joining the National Society as a member-at-large, should send 
her application to the Registrar General. No applicant is admitted 
until her initiation fee and dues are paid. 

2. Fees and dues of Chapter members should be paid to the Chapter 
Treasurers. Fees and dues of the members-at-large should be for- 
warded to the Treasurer General by check or money order, never by 
cash. 

3. Certificates of membership and permits for the ceremonial badge, 
recognition pin and ancestral bars, are issued by the Registrar General. 

4. Communications in regard to the formation of Chapters should 
be addressed to the State Regent or to the Vice-President General in 
Charge of Organization. 

5. Charters of Chapters are issued by the Vice-President General 



36 GENERAL INFORMATION. 



in Charge of Organization of Chapters who will forward blank for 
application on demand. The Charter fee ($5-Oo) should be paid to the 
Treasurer General. 

6. Requests for supplies and communications addressed to the 
National Board should be sent to the Corresponding Secretary General. 

7. Orders for articles sold by the National Society should be sent 
to the Curator, at 902 F Street, Washington, D. C. 

Rosettes (the informal badge), 25 cents each; Lineage Book, Vols. 
I to 22, $1.00 each; Directory, 1904, $1.00; Statute Book, 15 cents; 
Daughters of the American Revolution ribbon, 35 cents a yard; the 
Memorial Continental Hall Souvenir Spoon, $1.75- 

8. Note paper, with the Society water-mark, 50 cents for five quires ; 
same with insignia, 80 cents; envelopes to match, 50 and 80 cents, 
respectively, and souvenir spoons (tea, $2.00 to $2.50; coffee, $1.25 to 
$1.75, according to materials used), are sold by J. E. Caldwell & Co., 
Philadelphia, Pa. The Recognition Pin may be obtained from Mrs. 
Ellenor Dutcher Key, 902 F Street, N. W., Price, $1.00. 

9. Contributions to the American Monthly Magazine should be 
sent to the Editor at 2831 Woodhill Road, Cleveland, Ohio. Sub- 
scriptions and advertisements should be sent to the Business Manager, 
at 902 F Street, Washington, D. C. 



GENERAL INFORMATION. 37 

ID. A member in good and regular standing, desiring to be trans- 
ferred from one Chapter to another is entitled to a transfer card signed 
by the Regent, Treasurer, and Registrar of her Chapter. She must also 
secure another duplicate copy of her original application paper on file 
in the archives of the National Society (if desired, clerks at Head- 
quarters will make such copies for 25 cents). This duplicate copy of 
her application paper, together with her transfer card, must be filed in 
the archives of the Chapter to which she is transferred. 

11. Resolved, That hereafter if a member enter a Chapter within 
six months after the payment of her dues to the National Society direct, 
the Treasurer General is directed to return one dollar to the Chapter 
on demand. — American Monthly, May, 1896, page 714. 

12. Real Daughters of Revolutionary Soldiers are exempt from 
annual dues and an applicant who presents a card of transfer from the 
National Society of the Children of the American Revolution, showing 
that she was in good standing, with all dues paid to that Society, to 
the age of eighteen, and that the transfer is given within a year there- 
after, is exempt from initiation fee. 

13. Any member whose papers are accepted by the National Society 
on or after August 22d in any year shall not be required to pay dues 
again until the 22d of March of the second year next ensuing. 



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